How to set the default payment card on your Pixel Watch

Just the other day, I was in a situation where the simplest way to pay for my meal was with my Pixel Watch. I don’t often use my watch to pay, so I was already a bit self-concious when I was prepping to approach the payment terminal. Once I was ready, I double-clicked the digital crown and was set to pay when I realized my company card was showing. I quickly swiped through the options available, made it to my personal bank debit card and completed the payment.

Afterwards, I quickly realized that if I want to use this payment method most often, it would make a lot of sense to take the time to set it as a default. It was at that precise moment that I realized I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about doing that. So, I fiddled around a bit with my watch, figured it out, and thought it would be something worth sharing with our readers as well.

Set your Pixel Watch default payment via the Watch app

The first option is to go to your phone and use the Watch app to set your default payment method. Simply open the app, head to Google > Google Wallet > Your preferred card. Once you’ve selected the card you’d like to set up as your default (this assumes you’ve already added at least one card via Google Wallet prior to this step), click on the make default for contactless and off you go. The next time you go to pay on your Pixel Watch, the card you just selected will come up first and automatically.

Set your Pixel Watch default payment on the watch itself

The second (and simplest) option is to set the default on your watch. In the moment from my story above, I didn’t readily understand this to be an option and it wasn’t exactly clear how to do it. Turns out, this is quite simple and only requires a few steps.

Simply double click the digital crown, scroll to the card you’d like as your default, touch that card on the screen, scroll down, and select Make default from the options. You’ll see a small toast notification pop up and after this, the button will change from Make default to Default card and will have a blue background.

It’s that simple! Either of these methods will get you to where you need to be and will make your watch payments far simpler moving forward. I now have my bank card set up as primary and can simply double-click my digital crown, touch my watch to the payment terminal, and be on my way. Sometimes it’s the little things, but having this set up and ready makes me feel far less anxious about the slightly-awkward maneuver needed to get your watch on the terminal.